His Nose Itched

"One night," said Ben Holladay to a New York World man, "I was bouncing over the plains in ono of my overland coaches. "Mr3. Holladay and myself wero tho dhly passengers. Several stages had been robbed within two months and the driver was ripping along as though a gang of prairio wolves were after him. Suddenly the horse3 wero thrown on their haunchcsand the stage stopped. "I was heaved forward, but quickly recovered, and found myself gazing at the tnuzzles of a double-barreled shctgun. " 'Throw up your hands and don't Btir!' shouted the owner in a gruff voice. "Up went my hands and I began to commune with myself. The fellow then coolly asked for my money. I saw that ho did not know who I was, and I was afraid that my sick wife might awake and cali my name "My coat wasbuttonedovermy bosom, but scarcely high enough to hide a magnificent emerald that cost me over $8,000 a few weeks before in San Francisco. "1 scarcely breathed through fear that light might strike the stone, and its sparkling brilliancy attract the attention of tho robber. I had about 40,000 in a money-belt and several hundred dollars ai niy pocket. "Suddonly my friend shouted: 'Come, shell out - quiok, or I'll send the oíd 'un a free lunch.' "I passod out the few hundreds loose in my pockets and handed him my gold watch and chain. They wero heavy. I think the chain alone would weigh five pounds at least. " 'There,' said I - 'there's every cent I've got! Tako it and let me go on. My wife is very UI, and 1 don't know what would happen to her if she knew what was going on.' " 'Keep your hands up!' was the reply, whilo a second robber received my watch and money. "Toen a searuh was made for the express company's box, but the doublebarrelled shotgun did not move. It9 tnuzzles were within a foot of my nose. For my lifo I did not dare to stir. "Jly noso began to itch. The stifl hairs of my mustache got up, one after another, and tickled it until the sensation was intolerable. I con ld stanl it no longer. " 'Stranger,' 1 cricd, 'I must scratch my nosel It itches so that I am almost crazy!' " 'Move your hands,' he shouted, 'and I'll blow a hole through yoijr head big enough for a jack rabbtt to jump through!' "I appealed once more. " 'Well,' he answered, 'keep your hands still and I'll scratch it for yQU.' " "Did he scratch it?" asked one of lien a interested listeners. "Sure!" said Mr. Holladay. "How?" asked the breathíess liatener. "With tho muzzle of the cocked gun!" said the great overlander. "He rubbed the muzzle around my mustache and raked lt over the end of my nose until I thanked him and said that it itched no lonper." The robbers soon afterwards took their leave, with many apologies, and Ben continued his journey to the Missouri, with the big emerald and S40,000. The smallest flowering plant in exiatence is wolfiia microscopia, a native of India. It belongs to the duckweed fanülv. It is almost microscopio in size, destitute of proper stem, leaves and roots, but having these organs niereed in one, formina a frond. There are two species of the genus found grovving wild in the Eastern L'nited Statea. One of them, wolfflacolumbiana isabout the one-twenty-flfth of an inch in diameter, and the other, wolffia braziliensis, "omewhat smaller in size